Notices by Moof! 🔜 T3chFest (moof@cupoftea.social), page 2

On the 29th of May 1991 the ICE was officially launched in a press event. Trains started in Bonn, Hamburg, Stuttgart, München and Mainz and converged on the newly-built Kassel-Wilhelmhöhe station, the centre of the new Hannover-Würzburg High Speed Line. There were politicians and celebrities aboard the trains, as well as the press. More were at the station, alongside many eager train fans.

Aboard the train from Bonn was Federal President Richard von Weizsäcker, who was there to inaugurate the service, which happened on the stroke of midday, in the hopes that punctuality would be one of the hallmarks of the new service.

Story on the Hesse history site: https://lagis.hessen.de/de/quellen-und-materialien/hessen-im-19-und-20-jahrhundert/alle-eintraege/1604?zeiger=1

There is a little known fact that there was a sixth train that came to the station that day. It was waiting in Köln for the train from Bonn, and drove behind it, empty.

It was there in case the presidential train broke down, in order to let the show go on, but was never used. It can be seen in the photo, but was not reported on by the press.

An interview with that train driver can be found here: https://www.hna.de/kassel/sechster-ice-bahnhofseroeffnung-kassel-wilhelmshoehe-90838357.html

(some of this research was facilitated by the delightful @MagicLike)

After that brief dip into the inauguration, it's time for our next train, from Köln Hbf to Hannover Hbf. This is again on an :ice_1: ICE 1, in keeping with our rules.

We've found ourselves a spot in the first class section that has a nice wide table, which means I'll be able to grab lunch properly. This is thanks to the fact that @darkphoenix has gold status, one of the perks of them having a BahnCard 100, which allows for unlimited travel on the entire DB network as well as regional and local railways.

You can see her post about it here: https://not.an.evilcyberhacker.net/notes/ag3mf0f3ebio009o

And this really is not our day. We've been Bahned yet again, though only in a way that affects this challenge.

I've now received a notification for DB that due to a technical fault, my train to Würzburg has been replaced with a different model, and so my seat reservation has been moved. This is normally a good thing, as it means I don't lose my place on the train, except what was an :ice_2: ICE 2 is now an :ice_1: ICE 1.

Whilst we could take an :ice_1: ICE 1 to Würzburg under the rules, I couldn't find a sensible routing that would allow us to take an :ice_2: ICE 2, an :ice_2: ICE T and an :ice_3: ICE 3 (403) tomorrow.

There is an :ice_2: ICE 2 that arrives in Würzburg 2 hours later, which hopefully will not be replaced. If not, then, within our rules, we have the option of something like a NightJet, either to Würzburg, or to Passau.

As it is... it's going to be a long evening…

Back to 1991. There was an intermediate period between the official inauguration on the 29th May through to the first commercial service. Gerd Böhmer, a long time rail fan, took one of the demonstration trains on the 31st of May and his (short) account and photos are up on https://www.gerdboehmer-berlinereisenbahnarchiv.de/Bildergalerien/19910531-db/19910531.html

On the rails again… #Interrail #CrossBorderRail

Today, Wendy the DBJUNGLESKOG and I are heading off on an 11-hour 1,600km slog through France on a couple of TGV Duplexes, going, via Paris Gare de Lyon and Paris Gare de l’Est, to Karlsruhe Hbf.

Today’s Itinerary: https://trainlog.me/public/trip/557680,557681

On the way out towards Girona we pass through the new platforms at the as-yet-unopened Barcelona La Sagrera station. And there we saw some Renfe Series 103 trains parked up, as the station is currently being used as a depot for High-Speed trains. These 103s will become relevant next Thursday and Friday during the second and third day of the #ICEAgeChallenge…

Today’s trip is the first leg of what is planned to be over 9000km worth of trip to round off the year. It’s also likely to be the last trip of this sabbatical, so I’m trying to make it count.

This trip is going to have: Marchés de Noël, a Hot Tub Party, a ride on the last remaining Danglebahn to complete the set, Weinachtsmarkts, the #ICEAgeChallenge, a dangleway over the Rhine, Kriskindlmarkts, a new country - Sweden, a little mermaid, Junlemarkeder, Hotels that are “unfeasably close to the station”, a pod cabin on a Ferry, Julmarknader, two new Talgo 230 trains, and Saunas.

Oh, and did I mention Christmas Markets?

The full itinerary can be previewed here: https://trainlog.me/public/tag/54910132-504c-4304-a169-ef122810cf8c

Stay tuned in to see what I get up to this next couple of weeks…

La France… Je suis à vous!

I obviously decided to celebrate it with some slightly battered artisanal croissants… that I picked up in Spain, because I know full well how terrible the SNCF ones are. The somewhat now expected police doing the annoyingly regular and thus likely illegal border check did not object to them, so that’s something.

My train tracker over at https://viaduct.world informs me that I have now crossed the Tunel de Perthús - the main high speed link between France and Catalunya - 22 times, with a 23rd happening before the end of the year.

As such, I know that this now becomes the start of when we have decent cellular coverage, at least until the start of the high speed section at Nîmes.

(CW: some battered but delicious croissants)

One of the absolute pleasures of travelling by train on this route is being able to do the section between Perpignan and Narbonne, especially on a Duplex train.

On this section, you have a whole load of marshes and salt flats as well as a couple of larger lakes that create some delightful scenery, and the train line goes right through the middle of some of these marshes. The main road is a little further to the east, and much further away from the edge of these lakes, so you get a unique view from the train.

If you catch the right time of year you will see hundreds, if not thousands, of flamingos on the lakes. This time there were only a few dozen.

Sadly, we must give up some of the nicer things in life in the name of progress, and the Ligne Nouvelle Montpellier-Perpignan is due to replace this as the main access to Spain from France, but not til the 2040s

Definitely worth going past during the daytime, or if you can swing it, during a sunset.

Another of the experiences that doesn’t get old, part of the ritual of this line that is the first I encounter on a trip, is when the train leaves Nîmes, and we hit the LGV Sud-Est, and the driver puts his hand forward and turns the speed up.

Today’s driver, Jean-Jacques, just got on the loudspeaker to wish us all a pleasant ride as we go at a leisurely 280km/h up the high speed line. Which I felt was a nice touch, as well as a bit of well-deserved bragging.

I am still amazed that I am on the top floor of a 200m long train the size of a small skyscraper on its side, that can travel at 300km/h as I listen to synthwave and tap away on a laptop. This never ceases to bring me a little joy, and it seems somewhat more real than the abstract feeling of flying point-to-point, where you can’t see anything but the land in th distance below you moving seemingly slowly.

Another day, another terminus, another basically boring and unpleasant crossing of Paris, and finally aboard the last TGV of the day.

It still boggles me that the easiest and quickest way to get to Karlsruhe from Barcelona is via Paris. Especially as this train goes all the way to Valence, which is not that far from the Italian/Swiss border. Geographically, it makes no sense.

But between the fact that the lines on the German border are all low speed, and the small availability of trains going north east from Nîmes, Valence, or even Lyon, it means that the earliest I can get to Karlsruhe is aboard this train, that I have to change at Paris to catch.

In case you're unfamiliar with french railways, the best way to explain how Paris-centric the transport infrastructure is, is by looking at this line map by @larstransportworld.

(map extracted from https://larstransportmaps.com/2025/02/23/high-speed-rail-in-france-2025/ )

@larstransportworld Also, thank you to SNCF for letting me know that I have no drinks available on the train by sending an email 10 minutes before the train leaves, and once the platform gates have already been opened and I'm aboard.

How exactly are we supposed to "bring with us everything you need for your journey” with that sort of lead-up time?

(This isn't my first rodeo: I do have a stash for this sort of occasion, including something to drink, but still, my point stands)

@larstransportworld Another small thing I’ve noticed on TGV trains is that the ones that go to Germany and Switzerland have little screens above the seats to show if the seat is reserved, and between what stops.

The ones that don’t touch these countries don’t.

I hadn’t noticed this until one day @darkphoenix wanted to take a TGV to Karlsruhe rather than an ICE, and I was genuinely perplexed how we were going to manage that without a reservation, as I had not noticed the existence of these before. But in Germany, Austria and Switzerland trains do not run with compulsory reservation, with a few exceptions. So this allowed us choose an unreserved seat.

Of course, it’s SNCF, so it’s as user-unfriendly as possible. It rotates the display between the start and end station of the reservation instead of showing both at once, and so you have to wait a few seconds to read it. And the viewing angle is about 5 degrees

On the rails again… #CrossBorderRail

Today I am joining @jon on his project of inspecting all the current and former railway border crossings in Europe.

Today’s trip plan: https://trainlog.me/public/trip/508164,508170,508179,508160,508192

Jon’s post: https://gruene.social/@jon/115399385503648708

We’re taking an ÖBB CityJet to Angern an der March, with some graffiti on the outside, which on this window shows as bisexual colours…

This is what you should be drinking in. Only this.

TIL that DB calls the real time occupancy indicators on long distance train seats, that let people know that seat is taken as far as a particular station “Digital Towels”.

Really not shaking the tourist stereotypes there… #Interrail

Guten Morgen! Wieder auf Schiener. (On the rails again) #Interrail #CrossBorderRail

Frequent traveller tip: set up a shortcut on your phone’s keyboard, so when you type a nonsense word such as “pptno” or “idno” it replaces them with your passport or id number. Makes filling in booking and hotel registration forms a lot less hassle.
#Interrail

Do I know a graphic designer or artist on here who can do me a quick (2 days ish) turn around on a logo for a private card game?

It should go without saying, but yes, this obviously is a paid gig.

Good morning Fedi (and those who read me on Bluesky!)! I’m on the rails again #interrail